Well, so much for continuing the blog! We've settled into a more domestic lifestyle
now we're back in the Phoenix
area. We really like Paradise RV resort,
where people seem more friendly than they were where we stayed last
winter. It's also very close to my HRB
office, which has already been useful since I'm teaching some virtual classes
from that office. Vicky's office is
closer too.
We're so happy with this place that we decided to research
buying a "Park Model" here and renting it our while we're on the
road. A Park Model is a manufactured
home that, while it could be transported, is permanently situated on a
lot. This resort has more Park Models
than RV sites. Some of them are lived in
all year, some are lived in only during the "Season" (January thru
March or April), and yet others are rented out.
Usually you can only rent them for the season.
We got a list of places for sale and toured the resort,
picking out a few that looked promising.
We then got a person from the office to show us these, and eventually
narrowed it to two possibilities. While
we would buy the park model for cash, we have to pay an annual lease to the
resort for the lot, which gives us access to all the wonderful facilities at
the resort. So we calculated what we
were likely to get in rent, hoping that the in-season rent would come close to
paying the annual lease.
We'd come to the conclusion we might be almost able to break
even on the larger of the two units, but it would need new furniture. The smaller unit was beautifully furnished
but due to its size wouldn't command a high rent. So we were not sure whether we should go
ahead.
Then we noticed a "For Sale" sign in the park
model right next to our lot. We'd
already met its owners. Richard and
Tanya also own the park model on the other side of the one next to us and had
told us it was rented for the season.
Well, this unit looked, on the outside, better than any of the others
we'd seen, so we asked them to show it to us.
The inside is beautiful, with almost new furniture and appliances, plus
it's larger than most other park models around here. It even comes fully furnished, including an
air conditioned "shed" with new washer and dryer, plus a new barbecue
and patio furniture.
We were delighted when they told us what they were asking,
and also that the rent they're getting is on the high end of what can be
expected in this resort. So we've made
them an offer. We won't close until the
spring since they have the renters for this year. If all goes well, by the time we leave here
next April/May, we will own a permanent place in this resort that we'll rent
out for the next few years while continuing to live in the RV. Once we decide to end the traveling
lifestyle, we'll have a small but beautiful home in a community (it's like a
small town) we love, close to our friends from when we lived here.
Speaking of friends, a nice plus is that we've made some new
ones. Richard and Tanya are delightful
and we've hit it off already!
I'm going to continue volunteering at the Phoenix Zoo, while
Vicky has rejoined her book club and other groups. The resort arranges trips and has clubs for
all sorts of hobbies as well as a landscaped (and heated!) pool and hot tub,
plus a gym. So there's no shortage of
things to do for the next couple of months.
Once we hit tax season we'll both be back with HRB
which will give us less time, but we're closer to everything here than we were
last year so our commute time will be less giving us more time to ourselves.
We're also resuming our volunteer usher work at 2 local
theaters so we'll have no shortage of professional entertainment. Over Thanksgiving we're going to the Desert
Rose Baha'i School, half way between Phoenix
and Tucson, where we'll renew some
old friendships. From there we're
heading down to San Diego in the RV
for a few days, where we'll visit their zoo (where we still have a membership).
So life is good. I'll
write periodically when interesting stuff happens, and I'll see you next Spring
for another summer of travel. Thanks for
reading!
